Fallen Twilight
by Android 24
Summary: When Axel Twilight finds himself on the doorstep of Sookie Stackhouse, he won't just gain a friend and family, but he will also have to face a danger that has haunted him for years. Contains eventual OC/Eric, rated M for Language, Themes and eventual Sex.
1. Finding Refuge

Text) = Thought  
"Text" = Speech

The scene opens to the sound of feet crushing grass and leaves beneath them, accompanied by the sound of heavy breathing, with a distant sound of feminine laughter. A teenage looking boy comes running into the scene, wearing very dirty looking clothes, that are slightly bloody.

(I need to get out of here, if I don't, that blood sucker's gonna drain me dry!)

With that thought, the boy breaks into an all out run through the forest that he is in. As the forest rushes past him, the laughter grows louder as the fore-mentioned vampire begins getting closer. He runs through bushes and trees and eventually, they begin noticeably dwindling until they had completely disappeared, revealing a road, and a big house at the end of it. It looks quite old, around maybe one hundred or more years old. The lawn is clean, cut and it is wide and open, but aside from that, it looks pretty ordinary.

"Thank God!" The boy yelled as he ran towards the house, his face looking frantic.

He reaches the house's front door, and he starts to bang on it and yell.

"Please! I need help! Someone!"

The laughter begins to get even closer and sound even more insane and maniacal. The boy begins banging on the door harder and faster, after a few more moments of this, the sound of a door lock turning is heard and the boy stops bashing on the door, and instead looks around anxiously, in order to look out for the vampire. The door opens and a woman, who is around the boy's height, around 6 feet, is standing in the door way. Her hair is golden blonde and cascading down her back. She's wearing an open-cut blouse that shows off her bikini top she is sporting, probably in an attempt to keep cool in the boiling hot weather, and even at night it was still hot. She also had on a pair of short jeans that revealed he thin, slightly muscular legs.

"Can I help you?" She asked, looking a bit shaken up herself, probably from the unexpected bashing on her door.

"Please let me in, there's a vampire chasing me and she's gonna kill me if you don't!"

The girl instantly grabs the boy's wrist and yanks him inside while looking around outside her door.

The boy quickly turns around and lets a sigh of relief escape his mouth.

"Thank you so much! Now that I'm inside, she can't get me"

"Well it's good that you came across my house then, I don't even want to think of what might have happened if you hadn't" the girl says, quickly closing the door and locking it, then turning around to give the boy more of a look over.

"You poor thing! You must be hungry, and you need new clothes, those things are so old and dirty." She cried, her southern accent more apparent then when she first spoke.

"Well…I am kind of hungry, but I really couldn't impose on you anymore then I already have, I mean, you let me into your house…without asking any questions which brings to mind how you could have known I wasn't a vampire."

The girl smiles a warm and inviting smile.

"Let's just say I'm good at reading people, besides, I doubt if you were a vampire, you would have let me live this long." She explains, reason lacing her voice.

The boy was silent while the girl turned away from the door and into another room of the house, her voice reaching his ears.

"Now come in here and let me give you something to eat."

(Well no point in fighting her, I doubt I would be allowed to leave without eating anyway.) He thinks as he walks into a kitchen that was somewhat small but also had a lived in quality to it, making it seem like this was the most used room in the house, it smelled of a faint trace of perfume and had the smell of food, a roast maybe, in it.

"Come on, sit down and we can get introduced while I get you your food."

Sitting down, the boy rests his head in his hands, elbows touching the table while the girl walks about the kitchen.

"So, what's your name?" She asks as she sets a few slices of meat on a plate.

"Well, how about you tell me your name first, so I can properly thank you?"

"It's Sookie, Sookie Stackhouse."

"Well Sookie, Thank you for letting me into your home. My name is Axel Twilight."

Sookie turns around and walks over to the kitchen counter and begins cutting a few pieces of meat off of a roast that is sitting there on a cutting board and places the meat pieces on a plate, setting them in front of Axel.

"Thank You." He says as he takes the fork and knife she set down in front of him and begins eating the meat.

Sookie pulls out a chair from the table and sits down, looking at Axel with a curious look on her face.

"So, how did you end up getting chased by that vamp anyway? In fact, where are your parents?" She asked, which results in Axel ceasing his eating and looking down at his plate with a sad look on his face.

(Great, we're on this conversation now. Now she's going to call social services and I need to get out of here before they get here, I don't wanna go to a foster home.)

Sookie's face changes to one of understanding and slight amusement.

"Don't' worry Axel, I won't call social services, not if you don't want me to." She says with a wink.

"Oh… that's good." He responds. His head snaps up and his eyes go wide. "Wait…You…You can read my thoughts?"

Sookie nods as she smiles.

"Well then, seeing as how we are deciding to surprise each other, would you believe me if I told you I can too?"

Sookie's face lights up and she nearly jumps on the table but barely manages to contain herself. "Really? You're a telepath too? That's amazing, I've never encountered another telepath before." She cried, happiness more than evident in her voice.

"Yeah, have been all my life."

"Wow, so how has life been for you then? It must be hard, I can totally understand."

Axel sighs and looked at Sookie with a sad look in his eyes.

"Well honestly, life hasn't been all that great, my parents died about four years ago so I've been on my own because I couldn't stand living in a foster home that does nothing but pity you." He explained, putting down his fork and knife on his now empty plate.

Sookie takes the plate and stands up, and she gives Axel an understanding glance, then puts the dishes into the sink, where it would later be washed.

"Well I can definitely see where you're coming from, my parents died in a flash flood when I was seven and I was raised by my grandmother along with my brother, Jason. My Grandmother…passed away last year so It's been just me and Jason ever since….well that and my boyfriend Bill." She explained, walking over to the table again and sitting back down, cupping her head in her hands and resting her elbows on the table.

Axel slowly nods and then begins to rise from the table.

"Where do you think you're going?" Sookie inquires, not moving from her current position.

Axel stands where he was and looks at Sookie.

"Well I can't very well stay here, I would feel too bad for imposing on you and I couldn't stand staying here out of pity so I need to move on."

Sookie shakes her head, her arms crossing over her chest.

"I am NOT letting you leave, at night, while there is a vampire that could very well still be out there waiting to kill you. You're staying here and that's final. It's no imposition at all so why don't you sit down while I go upstairs to see if I have any of Jason's old clothes for you to use, we need to get you out of those rags." And with that Sookie left the room, her footsteps sounding through the house as she went up the front door stairs. The sound of a door being opened was all that was heard to signal she had reached the room she was going too.

(Well I guess I should have at least expected her to not let me leave, if she was nice enough to not call social services on me, she was probably not gonna throw me out either.)

Sookie's footsteps were able to be heard again as she walked back down the stairs and into the kitchen, hold a pair of faded blue jeans, some boxers and a shirt with a black and blue checker pattern on it.

"I hope these are okay." She said, setting them down on the table and in front of Axel.

He looked at her with a shocked expression on his face.

"Are you serious? These are the first real clothes I've gotten since I was a kid, of course they're alright Sookie. Thank You so much." He replied, making Sookie blush.

"Uh yeah, I guess they would be, I'm just so used to wanting to be able to please everyone that I just ask that out of habit."

(I wonder how many times she has to make sure everyone's happy if she asks it out of habit?)

"Well let me see, there's my boyfriend Bill, Jason, My boss…you get the picture." Sookie replied, a coy grin gracing her gentle face.

Axel smiles a little and even lets a short laugh escape his lips as he stands up and picks the clothes off the table, letting them rest on his arm.

"This mind reading thing is going to be a bit of a problem…" He sighs.

"Oh well, if you don't want me reading your mind, I could just block your thoughts…that's what I usually do anyway."

"Are you serious? You can block a person's thoughts?"

Sookie nods in response, looking quite proud of herself.

Yeppers, if you wanted, I could teach you how!"

Axel begins nodding his head in response with a smile on his face.

"Absolutely!"

Sookie smiles in response and gets up from her chair.

"Well then, if you want me to teach you, you need to stay here with me…as I assume that you don't have a place to go since you're wearing those clothes…which reminds me. Go change into those clothes I brought you and then I can show you around the house."

Axel, the smile still on his face, stands up from his chair, picking up the clothes from the table.

"Here, I'll lead you to a bathroom so you get changed." Sookie explains as she begins walking out of the kitchen, with Axel following close behind her.

End Chapter.


	2. Getting a Job

Chapter 2:

The smell of bacon cooking in a frying pan along with sausage wafts through the house as Axel is seen walking down the stairs and walks into the kitchen, looking somewhat sleepy. There is music playing in the background and is obviously a country song. The song playing is Beyond Here Lies Nothing, by Bob Dylan.

Sookie turns around and, upon seeing Axel, smiles one of her bright, inviting, smiles.

"Well, it's good to see you up, and you're just in time for breakfast!" She announces happily.  
Axel yawns audibly and sits down in one of the chairs at the dining room table.

"Sookie, there's something I need to talk to you about." He says as Sookie places a plate in front of him, which has a few piece of bacon on it, along with a piece of sausage and two eggs.

"Sure thing, what is it?" She asks as she walks back towards the stove to get herself some food for herself.

"Well, I was thinking for a bit before I went to sleep last night, and I decided that if I'm going to be living here with you while you teach me to control my telepathy, I should get a job to help you pay for the extra expenses I'm probably going to cause you." Axel explains as he takes a fork Sookie hands to him when she comes back to the table and sits down.

"Really Axel, It's no problem at all. You don't need to get a job."

Axel begins shaking his head as he pokes his fork into a sausage and bites a bit off, chewing it slowly.

(I want to Sookie, I could not, in good conscience, live here for free…hey, this thought speech is quite handy!)

Sookie nods with a soft smile on her face.

"It definitely can be helpful, but other times it can be quite annoying, I mean, my job…." Sookie stops and gets a look on her face that makes it seem like a light bulb just went off over her head

"Hey! Why don't we see if my boss, Sam, can give you a job at the bar I work at? It would give you the satisfaction of paying me for living here, and you'd be able to practice your mental shielding from other people's thoughts!"

Axel's face lights up at the idea

"Sookie! That's a great Idea...The only problem is that I'm not of legal age to work in a bar."

Sookie waves her hand in a dismissing manner, her smile never leaving her face.

"Pshaw, no worries. All we need to do is sweet talk Sam. He's been looking for more workers lately that he would be able to make an exception...as long as you don't have an issue with vamps. Main reason being is that my boyfriend is one and secondly reason is they seem to have been coming into the bar more and more frequently as of late."

Axel's eyes went wide as a burning anger welled up inside him, but managed to keep it in check.

"What's the matter Axel?" Sookie asks.

Axel gave a weak smile as he explained.

"Sookie...my parents were killed by a vampire. Not the same one that was chasing me last night...at least I don't think it's the same one, since I didn't get to see who actually killed them. I was too busy running for my life."

Sookie's smile instantly vanishes. She grabs hold of one of Axel's hands and rubs it gently, in a soothing way.

"Honey, I'm so sorry. If I'd have known, I wouldn't have mentioned vampires at all." She says, concern in her voice.

"S'ok Sookie, there's no way you could have known, even if you read my mind, you wouldn't have found out, since I keep that memory in a deep part of my mind. But if I need to be tolerant of vampires to work at the bar, I guess I'll have to be. Besides, judging a whole group, based on the actions of a few, seems morally wrong anyway."

Sookie nods and gives Axel a small smile, taking her hand away and looking at her food.

"Well, what do you say we finish eating and then we can head over to the bar before my shift to see if Sam will give you a job?"

Axel nods and begins eating his food, feeling much better now that he has a general idea of what he is doing with his life now.

Later that day:

Sookie pulls her car, a slightly run down yellow car, into the employee parking lot of Merlotte's Bar and Grill, which is at the back of the bar and then parks it and begins getting out. Merlotte's is a rustic looking establishment that stays true to the Louisianan building style, it is built out of wood that would breath easily so as not to trap a lot of hot air seeing as how hot it is right now, it makes sense. The wood however, seems to even be sweating in the intense heat, and with the sun beating down on it, only seems to amplify the effect.

Axel and Sookie begin exiting the car, the sun beating down on them and the sound of bugs blaring in their ears.

"Well...here we are." Sookie declares, walking around the back of the bar up to its entrance, which is a screen door that opens with a loud creak, in her uniform, which consists of a white tank top with a green patch attached to the left breast that reads "Merlotte's Bar & Grill" In addition, she is wearing black shorts and black Reebok sneakers, with her hair tied up into a ponytail. The outside is covered in a dark, almost maple looking wood. It seems to be there to allow the place to let hot air out for the building when the days get blisteringly hot. However the wood even seems to be sweating from the intense heat that is practically cooking everything outside at the moment.

Axel looks at the building with an appraising look as he follows Sookie inside. Inside, the wood that is on the outside, seems to almost extend and cover the entire interior. The wood is a brown color, which goes with the wooden tables and chairs which are a more light brown, almost blondish color. There are booths that extend from the left side of the door, all the way around the bar to where a hallway, assumingly to the kitchen and employee area, is situated. On the right side is a small jukebox and a pool table with a stained glass overhanging light.  
Already there are people moving around and, from what can only be assumed, are setting up for the evening of business that is to follow later on in the day. One of the women, a woman with flaming red hair, whom Axel finds from reading her mind, is named Arlene. At the moment, she is thinking about anything she may need to do before heading home after work. At the bar counter, there is a dark skinned woman, who is slim with dark hair in a braided style. Sookie seems to recognize her and walks up to the bar, Axel following along.

"Hey Tara, is Sam in?" She asks as the girl, whose name is Tara, puts down a glass she is drying.

"Hey Sook. Yeah, he's in his office." She answers as her eyes travel over to Axel and look him over.

"Who's this you have with you?" She asks.

Axel extends a hand in greeting and smiles.

"My name's Axel Twilight, nice to meet 'cha"

Tara takes his hand in a firm shake and gives her own smile, which shows perfectly white teeth that are amplified by the color of her skin.

"My name's Tara Thornton, nice to meet ya….Axel Twilight." She replied, trying the feeling of Axel's name on her tongue, which due to her southern accent sounded like Axel Twahlaht.

Axel takes his hand back while Tara picks up the glass she was drying again.  
"So, you here for a job or something Axel?" She asked as she finished the glass and started on another one.

Axel nodded in response.

"Yeah, I am…we were just coming in to ask Sam if I could have one, since Sookie mentioned he's been looking for more workers recently."

Tara nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, he has been looking for some more help lately, since the last two workers we had…..quit, due to certain circumstances. Anyway, you new in town or something…you must be because I would remember you."

"You could say that, currently, I'm living with Sookie since she has been so kind to offer me a place to stay until I get my life under control…I need the job so I can pay rent to repay her for the immense amount of kindness she has shown me."

Tara gave Sookie a look that only they must be able to understand, seeing as how they are apparently friends.

"Well Tara, I guess I'll see you in a few minutes once Axel and I finish up with Sam." Sookie piped in, signaling that it was time to move on.

"I'll be here." Tara states as Axel and Sookie turn towards the hallway that leads to a kitchen hole that must be where the waitresses pick up the orders of food, to the right is a door that has a gold plate on it that simply reads "Manager"

Sookie stops in front of the door and knocks on it a few times, waiting for a response.

"Come in." A voice calls from behind the door.

Sookie opens the door and takes Axel inside. The room is cluttered with papers and filing cabinets. On the left wall there is a desk with a computer on it and sitting in front of it is a man with short dirty blonde hair that swivels around his head in an almost halo like manner. He's wearing a plain grey T-shirt with faded blue jeans. He turns around in his chair and smiles at Sookie with a smile that looked more than one a boss should give.

"Hey Sookie, what can I do for you?" He asks as his head turns to Axel.  
"Well Sam, I kinda need a favour of you."

"Would it have anything to do with this guy?" He asked, jerking his head in my direction.

Sookie nodded with her bright smile.

"As a matter of fact yes, Axel and I were hoping you could give him a job here. I mean you've been mentioning how you wish we had more people around here and I thought this would be a great to replace one of the waitresses we lost."  
Sam puts his head in the palm of one of his hands and gets a thoughtful look on his face.

"Sookie, if you don't mind my asking, is he even eighteen? He sure doesn't look it." Sam asks, not taking his hand off his hand, but simply looking up at Sookie from his sitting position.

"No I'm not, but I can assure you Sam that you would have no worries about me…I'm more responsible for my age then you would think." Axel says, piping into the conversation, earning the look Sam was giving Sookie, which is now aimed at him.

"Axel right? Look, I would love to give you a job but I just can't, if I get caught employing a minor in my bar, I could get shut down, or worse, put in jail." Sam explains, Axel's face never losing it's now determined expression.

"Then we just wouldn't let anyone find out would we? What they don't know won't hurt 'em."

Sam shakes his head.

"Axel I don't think that's the best idea."

Axel stops and begins thinking for a minute, with Sookie and Sam both looking at him intently. He then gets a look on his face that practically scream" Aha!"

"The how about this, you hire me for the time being, and as soon as someone starts getting suspicious, I'll quit, saying that I got a better opportunity somewhere else? They would never suspect anything after that. Of course we would have to space the quitting idea by a week or two so as not to draw suspicion."

Sam's serious face turns to one of surprise, while Sookie's turns to one a satisfaction.

"Well Sam, what do you say?" Sookie asks, now looking at Sam.

Something that only Sam and Sookie could only understand was shown in the look that Sookie gave Sam, and in the end, he let out a heaving sigh.

"Fine, but as soon as someone asks, you're done. And if by some stroke of luck you manage to pull the charade off until you're eighteen, you can have a permanent job here." He explains as he stands up and shakes Axel's hand.

Before Axel can thank Sam, a knock is heard at the office door.

"Yes?" Sam asks, letting go of Axel's hand, everyone turning towards the door as it opens, and in steps a woman.

He build is one that can be described as slim but is also accompanied by curves that don't make her look like a rail like the women in fashion magazines. She has blonde hair that shines in the light and has platinum blonde streaks where the sun hits it. Her legs are long and built and her chest is of average size. The most prominent feature of her is the piercing blue eyes she has, hidden underneath her long, dark eyelashes. She has on a pastel coloured, blue v neck shirt with a necklace circling her neck, with a flaming red ruby at the end of it. Her shorts consist of bright pink pattern to them which help the necklace to stand out more and on her feet are a simple pair of sandals.

"May I help you?" Sam asks as the woman smiles, showing perfectly white teeth.

"Actually you can." She replies, her voice sounding like a melodic set of ringing bells, very pleasant to the ears.

"My name is Alexia Rebecca-Rose" I heard there was an offer for work here so I was wondering if you have a free spot?" She asks, her radiant smile never leaving her face.


	3. An Unwanted Visitor

**Well hello everyone, I certainly hope you have all been enjoying what has gone on with Fallen Twilight so far, I know I have. I own nothing except Axel Twilight, his backstory and any other new characters I introduce now and in future chapters.**

**With that said, please enjoy this chapter and I hope that you could leave a review to let me know how you think I'm doing with this :D**

Chapter 3:

Alexia puts one of her hand son her hips and tilts her head slightly, giving her a minor appearance of questioning.

Sam smiles in response and nods.

"You're correct, I am looking for more employees, what are your requirements though?" He asks.

"Well, I have waited in bar before, along with restaurants and I'm pretty familiar with how things go, plus I'm a very open person so I don't mind talking to people." Alexia explains, as Sookie and Axel are looking at her intently.  
"Well, you certainly seem fit for the job, so do you think you could start tonight? It would be great to have more help right away." Sam asks, to which Alexia nods in response.

"Sure thing Mr…?" She responds, ending in a question.

"Please, call me Sam…oh and since they are here, these are your other co-workers…Axel and Sookie."

Sam points to Axel and Sookie as he says their names. After their names being said, Axel and Sookie extend both their hands in an effort to shake hands with Alexia.

"Nice to meet you both." She replies as she takes first Sookie's hand and shakes it, then does the same with Axel's.

"You too Alexia, it's going to be nice having someone new to help around the bar." Sookie responds.

"Well I'm new here too so I hope I can learn some things from you." Axel explains, and when he takes Alexia's hand he hears…nothing, he can't hear her thoughts!

(Hey Sookie, did you hear any of this woman's thoughts?) Axel thinks, sending the question to Sookie.

(No I didn't hear anything, usually it means she has a supernatural aspect to her.) She replies, her face unchanging as she replies to Axel's question.

Axel was suddenly more interested in this woman now, more so then he was before.

"It will be a pleasure working with you both, though I assume you two aren't the only ones who work here, am I correct in assuming so?" Alexia asked, pulling back her hand from Axel's.

"You're right, it's not just us, you probably saw Tara working the bar when you came in, and probably saw Arlene running around the tables, setting them up." Sookie answers as Sam turns towards Axel.

"Seeing as how you're here Axel, would you mind starting your shift with Sookie and Alexia, it would be convenient for you to have the same schedule as she does since you live with her and all." He asks, a smile on his face.

"No problem Sam, except I don't have a uniform…is that a problem?" Axel asks as Sookie pulls Alexia over to where the other uniforms are and pulls on out for her.

"No, it's not a problem right now, I'll order a more…masculine type of uniform for you, should take a week or so to get here."

Axel smiles in response and nods.

"Okay, but do you mind if Sookie gave me a quick run down on how things work around here before I start, I'm pretty sure you wouldn't want an employee running around like a lost dog in your bar." He points out as Sam snorts in laughter, a bit more so than is required for Axel's little joke.

Sam quickly regains his composure and nods, a smirk remaining on his face.

"Of course, Sookie, did you catch that?" He asks as Sookie turns around from helping Alexia find an apron.

"Yep, got it." She replies as she quickly resumes helping Alexia.

"Well then, once those two are done, you're good to go."

"Thanks Sam, this means a lot to me, more than you probably know." Axel responds, with Sookie coming up behind him and grabbing his arm, pulling him out of the office and out into the bar to tell him how things work.

The night was pretty uneventful. After Sookie explained how to do things around the bar, Axel set to work, waiting on people as they came and went. There weren't many people who thought Axel looked underage in fact, a couple people, some guys and some girls, were thinking he looked attractive. Every person he waited on were greeted with a smile and some light conversation, which led to some people asking if he was new and where he was from. As the night went on, more and more people flooded into the bar, which lead to more people's thoughts being heard and which also lead to Axel's concentration being slightly lacking, but thankfully he was able to ignore the thoughts, not lock them out but ignore them, and get through the night.

Back at Sookie's House:

Sookie and Axel begin getting out of Sookie's car and shut the doors in silence. As they walk up to the front steps, a gruff male voice is heard from behind them, along with a quick burst of wind.

"Sookie." Is all it says, with the southern accent making Sookie, sound like "Sookeh"

Sookie quickly turns around and her neutral expression instantly turns to one of fury.

"What do you want Bill?" She spat, her voice coated in ice.

He seems rather unfazed by the contempt that Sookie is showing him, and proceeds to answer Sookie's angry question.

"Eric wishes to see you at Fangtasia, preferably now." He replies as Sookie grits her teeth together.

Sookie immediately runs up to the man, whose name seems to be Bill, and glares into his eyes

"Well you can tell Eric, that I am not something he can command like a dog that comes to him whenever he pleases. In fact, I don't want anything to do with you or him right now, and unless you want a stake shoved through that dead heart of yours, you'll get the hell off my property." She growled, walking up to Axel and pulling him after her.

"I don't think Eric will like that answer Sookie."

As Sookie unlocks the door and steps inside, she turns around and glares back at Bill.

"I don't give a rats ass what Eric thinks…now GET. OFF. MY. LAWN." She replies, her voice rising with each word she spoke.

And without saying another word, the man disappeared, leaving a trail of dust and dirt in his wake.

Sookie turns on her heel and stomps into the house, her anger on her face like a stain on a shirt.

"Sookie…who was that? It surprised me how mad you got." Axel asks as Sookie walks into her the living room and sits down on the couch that is positioned to the left of the fireplace that is built into the wall, made with a dull grey brick.

"That, was Bill…my ex. He and I…well we met one night at the bar when he came in for some True Blood. He's a vampire." Sookie starts explaining as Axel nods his head.

"Yeah, I kind of gathered that, what with him being gone so fast…I'm sure only a vamp could do that." He replies

"Yeah I guess that would be obvious."

Axel sits down beside Sookie and tilts his head in an inquisitive manner.

"So…why do you hate him so much? I mean, I've heard of exes not being on good terms, but that interaction practically bled pure hatred. What happened Sookie?" Axel asks as Sookie's eyes have the distinct shine that only tears could bring.

She brings up a hand and brushes the back of it across her eyes, sniffling audibly.

"God damn it, why do I always need to cry when I'm angry." She whispers, a slight hiccup catching her breath.

Axel sits still and gives Sookie a very sympathetic look, waiting patiently for her to answer him. She sits there in silence for a few moments, before she takes a deep breath.

"It was around last year. Bill and I had been dating for…seven months I think it was. He has been working on a database for the Queen of New Orleans, which has every vampire in the ruling area of the queen recorded in it, so they could find, contact or otherwise just know who was a vamp. Well, I had found that during this, Bill was becoming more distant from me…spending more time working on the database then spending it with me." Sookie takes tissue off the table in front of the couch and dabs her eyes.

"One day, he told me that if anything was to happen to him, I was to take the database and anything else linked to it, and hide it in a crawlspace underneath one of the closets in the rooms upstairs."

Axel nods his head and takes one of Sookie's hands in his.

"Well, not a week after he asked me to do this, he went missing. I went to his house, which is actually just across the cemetery from here, and hid it where he told me to. Eventually, Eric a vampire who is nearly nine hundred years old and the owner of Fangtasia, the one Bill told me I had been summoned to tonight, came and asked me to help him find Bill."

"I was told that someone who could help me was in Shreveport waiting for me. His name is Alcide Herveux and…well he's a werepanther"

Axel's eyes widen in surprise.

"Don't worry, I'll answer in a moment. Eventually, we found where Bill was being kept and went to help him. Alcide was held up so it was up to me to free him from where he was being kept. When I was trying to help him, his maker, Lorraina, attacked me. Thankfully I managed to drive a stake through her and kill her. Bill was badly beaten, and in need of feeding. So I managed to get him to one of the cars near where he was being held. I stole the car and drove it back to where Alcide lives. Unfortunately…" Sookie's voice breaks.

"As I was getting Bill out of the trunk I put him in, Alcide's ex-girlfriend, Debbie, pushed me into the trunk. Debbie wanted me dead because I was posing as Alcide's new girlfriend and she hated that. So I was locked in a trunk…with a blood thirsty vampire. When Bill woke up….he attacked me, started drinking my blood and damn near raped me."

Axel takes in a deep breath and pulls Sookie into a hug.

"I managed to get him to come to his senses, and I haven't spoken to him since." She cries, her tears falling onto Axel's shirt, making little wet spots on it.

"And the worst part of it…he went to his maker, willingly. He CHEATED on me, Axel. That's what hurt the most, I trusted him…I gave myself to him and he just pushed me aside like I was last years designer handbag." Sookie then breaks down into incomprehensible sobs.

Axel's eyes then burn with a hatred that looks like his eyes are on fire, imagining all the horrible things he could do to Bill for what he's done to Sookie.


	4. Encountering Perfection

(Text) = Thought

"Text"= Speech

The next few days have gone by without much of anything happening. Sookie and Axel both end up going to work and then straight home afterwards. Sookie has been relatively quiet since she had her heart-to-heart with Axel. They have however made an attempt to get to know Alexia, and have actually become friends with her, learning that she moved from London to Louisiana when she was young, so she never picked up the accompanying English accent... The mostly uneventful days, however, came to an end. The reason being? Because HE walks in. He, being a very tall, around 6'7, lean muscled and dirty blonde man, whose mind, Axel can't read.

"Hey Sookie, who's that?" Axel ask, eyes never leaving the beautiful eyes with piercing blue eyes that almost look silver.

Sookie looks up from the drinks she is putting on her tray and watches as Eric sits down in her section, eyeing her expectantly. She heaves an annoyed sigh and puts the rest of the drinks on her tray.

"THAT, would be Eric Northman, the vampire Bill mentioned when he showed up at the house a few days ago." She answers with a slight hint of disdain in her voice.

At the mention of his name, Axel feels a fluttering in his chest, like it contains a flock of butterflies. While he is looking the man over, Eric must realize he's being looked at, because his eyes turn away from Sookie to look Axel in the eyes, practically piercing him in the soul.

"T...that's Eric?" Axel asks, completely oblivious to the stutter in his voice, too enthralled in the man's gaze.

Sookie looks at Axel, and then towards Eric and back. She gives him a look that is half concern and half understanding.

"Trust me sweetie, he's not worth it." She warns, taking her tray and walking over to a group of men who were starting to look a little drunk.

"I'll be the judge of that." He responds, making sure his apron is tight around his waist and then walking over to the table Eric is seated at, a smile gracing his face when he stops at the table.

"Hi!" He chirps, Eric's eyes having never strayed from him.

For a moment, a silence hangs in the air before Eric responds.

"Good evening." He replies, nearly making Axel melt on the spot at the tone of his voice and the very faint accent he has in it.

"My name's Axel. What can I get for you this evening?" Axel asks, taking out a pen and pad, and clicking out the tip of the pen, ready to write down the request of the vampire.

"You could get me Sookie Stackhouse...along with a bottle B-positive True Blood, it would be so inclined." Eric answers, his grammar hinting at centuries at life.

(Sookie, Mr. Tall, blonde, and gorgeous would like to see you) Axel thinks, knowing full well Sookie that will be able to hear.

Sookie looks up from what she is doing at the bar and glares at Eric, obviously having heard the thought. She begins walking over, a very displeased look on her face.

"Yes?" She asks, looking extremely annoyed.

"I believe I sent Bill to retrieve you...why did you not come?" Eric asks, his voice sounding calm and collected, while having the type of tone someone would use to reprimand a child.

"And I believe I told you, I am not a dog to be ordered around and called on when you so please. And what the heck were you THINKING, sending Bill, of all people, to come get me. You of all people know the history we have." Sookie snapped, causing some people to turn away from their food or drinks, to stare at the scene at the table.

Axel puts on his best smile, and tries his best to tune out the thoughts coming from the people watching the exchange between Sookie and Eric, but he doesn't have much luck in attempt. Some still slipped through, like "Stupid slut, talking and dating those things. Such a sin against God, they should all be burned in the lords holy light." Or "Stupid woman, talking back to a man who is superior to her. She should know her place." Those two thoughts stick out to Axel the most, and he has to truly contain himself from tracking down the bastards and smacking them to next year.

"Assholes." He mutters under his breath as he approaches the bar, seeing Tara with her eyes also on the exchange.

"Hey Tara, I need a B-positive of True Blood." He says, earning Tara's gaze and a slight smile.

"You just be careful Axel, I don't wanna see something bad happen to you because of those fucking bloodsuckers." She warns, turning away and walking to a mini-fridge, pulling out a B-positive bottle of True Blood and putting it in a special microwave used to warm the "blood" to human body temperatures.

"You don't need to worry about me Tara, trust me." Axel responds, his gaze shifting back to Eric and Sookie, who had sat down in the booth with Eric and is arguing with him in hushed voices, with everyone having gone back to their food and drinks...probably because Eric looked their ways.

A thump is heard from the bottle as Tara places it down on the bar-top, making Axel jump and then turn back to face Tara.

"Are you joking? I saw how you went all fricken googly-eyed for that vamp." Tara laughed, causing Lafayette, the cook in the bar and Tara's cousin, to poke his head out the kitchen window to smirk at him.

"So...you're afraid of the pussy too?" He asks, making Axel turn beet red.

"Lafayette!" Axel squeaked, earning a laugh from Lafayette as he pulled his head back into the hole. Axel quickly picks up the bottle and walks back to the booth where Eric and Sookie are still arguing.

"Mind if I cut in?" He asks, putting the bottle in front of Eric, after popping off the cap and putting the customary Merlotte's napkin under it.

Eric looks at Axel and smirks a bit, nearly causing Axel to jump the man's bones.

"Not at all, perhaps, you could enlighten me on something of great importance?" He asks.

"W...what exactly do you need...enlightening on?" Axel asks, Sookie glaring at Eric, probably for using the charm he noticed he has over Axel, to his advantage.

"Sookie tells me that you were almost killed a few nights ago, by a vampire. Coincidentally, there have been a steep climb in murders of humans AND vampires, in the last few weeks."

Eric pauses and takes a sip of the True Blood.

"Would it be correct to assume you know ANYTHING about this vampire that attacked you?" He finished.

"Well, while I didn't see their face, I can tell it was a woman. She was laughing the whole time she was chasing me and she wasn't really trying to catch me, I KNOW she could have if she really wanted to." Axel answered.

"Well that little bit of info certainly does help us keep look out for any females acting out of the ordinary. As for you Sookie, since you and I have talked about this matter, you are excused from coming to Fangtasia." Eric explains, picking up his bottle and laying a twenty on the table.

Axel feels a sadness come over him suddenly at the realization Eric was departing from the bar.

"Oh...you're leaving already?" He asks, catching the thought-turned-speech too late.

Eric nods as he exits his booth, exuding a grace that only someone who has been alive for centuries could.

"Yes, my business is concluded here, and I have other matters of which to attend before dawn. I do, however, expect to be seeing more of you if you are going to be living with Sookie."

"Well I will be...until I have the money for my own place."

Eric nods at Axel's answer and the turns to Sookie.

"Very well, in the mean time, please be careful Sookie...we couldn't have our little mind reader dying on us." Eric says, smirking

Eric then looks back at Axel

"As for you, it was a pleasure meeting you Axel...?" He asks, asking for Axel's last name.

"Twilight, my name's Axel Twilight."

Eric walks to the bar entrance and opens the door.

"Very well, Axel Twilight. It was a pleasure meeting you." He replies.

In a burst of vampire speed, he's gone, leaving the door to swing shut by itself.

Axel stands where he is, staring at the door, completely memorized by the sound of his name on Eric's voice. He can hear the thoughts of the bar patrons come flooding into his mind. Some of which are "Sick, just sick, not only is he a fangbanger but he's a fucking homo. Disgusting." Or "That boy doesn't know what the heck he's getting himself into. Poor things gonna probably be on the front page of the newspaper, as another dead person."

Axel ignores the thoughts, some dirty thoughts of his own coming to his head, of him underneath Eric, with his strong hands caressing him, and his arms wrapped around him. Sookie makes a choking sound, signalling she read those thoughts from Axel's mind.

"Sorry." Axel sends, his devious and love sick look never leaving his face.

End Chapter


	5. Attacked!

**Well, here is chapter five everyone, I'm REALLY proud of this and I hope that you all enjoy it, as I cut out an entire scene and even cut a character from being in it too. :D**

**Disclaimer: The only thing I own here, is Axel Twilight, his storyline and family, along with Alexia Rebecca-Rose and any other OC's I may introduce later.**

It is currently dark outside. The air is filled with the music of the nightly swamp animals, making heir symphony of sounds that reach the ears of anyone close to the swamp. Axel and Sookie are pulling up in Sookie's car, outside of Merlotte's. The bar's nightly patrons are already inside and well into whatever conversations they are having with each other and are probably already on their ways to getting drunk. The reason for Sookie and Axel being here tonight is not to work, but to collect their checks for their days of work. Axel is here in hopes of also getting his work uniform. Being out of uniform has made him feel awkward, so he's looking forward to it.

"Alright Axel. I'll go inside and get the checks if you would like to just wait out here and keep the car running." As she is suggesting this, Sookie begins undoing her seatbelt, and puts the car in parks.

"Sure thing Sookie, I'm not really up to hearing people's close minded thoughts about me tonight." Is Axel's response as Sookie puts a hand on his shoulder.

"Trust me; it'll get easier to block them out as you work around them more." Sookie says, rubbing Axel's shoulder in assurance.

After Eric's "visit" to the bar the other night, and Axel's...reaction to him, people had begun showing what they thought about Axel's preferences. Sookie had then taken him that night and had a long heart to heart with him, and told him how he shouldn't care what people thought of him, even going so far as to explain Lafayette has the same preference.

Axel nods in responce

"Thanks Sookie, I'll try. Now why don't you go get the money and then we can go home and enjoy our night off." He replies, with Sookie nodding in agreement.

Sookie begins getting out of the car, just as Alexia walks out of the bar and towards the car when she catches sight of Axel and Sookie.

"Hey you guys! Isn't it your night off?" She shouts as she runs up to the car, her shoes making the gravel crunch with every step.

"Hey Alexia where are you going? I thought you had work tonight?" Axel asks poking his head out of Sookie's open door.

"Well I do, but I have to do something really important tonight so Sam was nice enough to give me the night off to do it." Alexia replies, looking at Axel and flashing a warm smile.

"Oh, Okay! Well Sookie and I are just here to pick our pay money and then we're heading home to enjoy our night off."

"That sounds; we should navigate our schedules to hang out together...just the three of us." Alexia says, something sounding off with the last part of her sentence, but Axel brushes it off as him just being paranoid.

Sookie seems completely oblivious to Axel's little unnerving moment.

"That sounds great, maybe when we see you next we can figure out a day that works for us."

Alexia nods, with her bright smile and begins walking away.

"Sounds great! I'll see you two tomorrow then and we can go from there!" She yells as she begins jogging off and disappears around a corner.

Sookie turns toward Axel with a small smile on her face.

"Well, I'll be back in a minute!" Sookie said as she turned and jogged up to the bar's doors, opening them with a creek from hinges that had long since been oiled.

The following silence is a peaceful one and calms Axel to the point he just lays back in his seat and listens to the wildlife's night song of chirping crickets and croaking frogs. The soothing breeze coming in from Sookie's open door only adds to the calming atmosphere, as Axel sighs in contentment. The silence, however, is shattered by the sound of twigs snapping, causing Axel to jump a bit in his seat and look out the back window...with nothing to be seen. The sound of snapping twigs is heard again, and Axel begins to feel unease settling over him and without thinking, he undoes his seatbelt and opens his door, standing up and shutting the door behind himself. The thought of Alexia coming back to the bar flashes through his head and so he calls out to see if he is just worrying for no reason.

"Alexia? Is that you?" He calls, the music of the wildlife coming to an abrupt halt, adding an eerie atmosphere to the night.

Axel's call is only met by silence.

"Stupid Axel...it was probably just an animal." He says to himself as he begins to turn around, only to feel a huge force throw him to the ground, knocking the wind out of his lungs.

Before he can take in a breath, he feels a sharp pain crash into his chest and then another, another. He is seeing stars flashing in his vision, before the pain leaves his chest...and appears in his nose as a resounding snap echoes through the night, his cries of pain being the only thing he can hear. It takes him a moment to realize that he is being kicked, on the ground, by not one, but three people, who he can hear bits and snippets of what they are saying...none of it good.

"Fucking Fang-Banging Faggot! You spit in the lords face!" One yells

"You whore! God will punish you for your sins!" Yells another.

Another kick comes flying at his nose and lands, snapping his head to the side and spraying blood over the rocky ground, painting it red. He knows if he doesn't do SOMETHING to save himself, he's as good as dead, and so in a ditch effort, he uses Sookie's mind reading to hopefully save himself.

(Soo...Sookie! Help me!) He practically screams as another kick connects with his chest, causing him to scream in pain.

The creaking of the bar's doors can be heard and then Sookie's voice, which sounds like an angel to Axel, is heard.

"OH MY GOD! AXEL! Sam, get the damn shotgun!"

Sookie's running feet can be heard as she runs over to Axel.

"Get the fuck off him you bastards!" She screams and one of the men stops kicking and turns to Sookie...slapping her and sending her down onto the ground.

"Don't YOU have a vampire doing you Fang-banging slut?" He yells as Sookie raises a foot and kicks him in the crotch, effectively earning a howl of pain from him, and making him fall to the ground, clutching what is left of his probably miniscule family jewels.

"Don't EVER touch me like that again!" She yells as she stands up and is about to go after the other two attacking Axel, when the cocking of a shotgun is heard.

"You both get to the count of ONE before I add make you the new paintjob for the road, now .!" Sam's voice is loud and powerful as the kicking stops, and Axel's moans of pain being the only sound for a few moments as the attackers just stand where they are in stunned silence...the third attacker still on the ground clutching his crotch.

"You would help these two sinners? They are a stain on the Earth and should be burned at the stake with one of those bloodsuckers!"

"You can take your Church of the Sun, bullshit and shove it up your asses!" Sookie yells as she runs over to Axel and bends down in front of him, he eyes red with tears that a threatening to fall, and a bruise forming on her right cheek.

"Axel! Can you hear me?" She asks as Axel only nods in response.

"Can you move?" She asks as Axel tries to stand up, but yelps in pain and falls down on the ground, throwing dirt into the air.

"I swear if you cause him to die, you're gonna wish you hadn't!" Sam yells, his gun still pointed at the men.

"If we did, we're just doing the lords will!" One of the men shouts, a shot being fired from Sam's gun shortly after, earning a yelp of surprise from both men.

"I am not going to miss the next I shoot...now get out, you're no longer welcome at this again." Sam says, a hint of underlying malice evident in his voice.

One of the men slowly walks towards their still on the ground friend, and picks him up, sliding one of his arms over their shoulder for support.

"Come on, this fag isn't worth getting shot over, god will judge him!" The man says as his other friend nods and they walk off as fast as they could.

Once they are out of sight, Sam quickly walks over to Axel and Sookie and kneels beside them, surveying the damage that has been done to Axel.

"What exactly did they break Axel?" He asks, his voice having a slight shake to it, but sounding otherwise in normal.

Axel begins trying to slowly sit up, and is helped by Sookie; once he is helped up he takes a few deep breaths and begins cautiously moving parts of his checking for any broken parts. For the most part, it seems the worst he can expect is a bunch of bad bruises, but once he begins checking his, the moment his hand touches his nose he hisses in pain and shock at how is practically turned to the right.

"Yeah, they really did some damage to that...I'll go get some bandages for..."

Sam doesn't get to finish as Axel quickly brings his hands up, grips his nose, and with a loud crack, snaps his nose back into place...starting the blood anew.

"No need, I'll just bandage it up back at Sookie's so I can get a good look at it...and thanks Sam." Axel says and then turns; now clearly seeing the bruise forming on her cheek.

"And I'm so sorry that you got hurt Sookie..."

Sookie shakes her head quickly in response.

"Don't be...it's not as bad as it looks...and besides, I got him back worse than he got me." She says, smiling.

For a moment there is nothing but silence, until Sam makes a noise of clearing his throat and moves closer to Axel, snaking his arms underneath him, and lifting him off the ground with little to no effort.

"Sam? I'm fine, really."

"Hardly, I don't think you should be walking around much after that beating, you can't risk hurting yourself more than you already are." He says as he walks towards the car...which is evidently farther than Axel remembers being from it before he was attacked.

(They must have dragged you away from it when they were kicking you) Sookie offers through their mental speech, Axel slowly nodding in agreement.

Once they reach the car, which still has the driver's and passenger's doors open, Sam walks around and places Axel gently into the passenger's seat, doing up the seatbelt with no protest from Axel, seeing as how it would be pointless to do so.

"Thanks Sam, I can't tell you how glad I am that you we were HERE when Axel got attacked and not at my house...I don't want to think what would have happened if we were." Sookie says, popping her keys into the ignition and turning them, making the car sputter pathetically to life.

Sam then walks back to the front doors of the bar and stops, just before he walks in.

"I'm glad too Sookie...just keep a close on Axel tonight, he lost quite a bit of blood, shouldn't be life threatening but just be sure."

Normally Axel would say there is no need to be so worried...but he had currently fallen asleep in the time it took Sam to get back to the bar doors, making his peaceful expression make him look as if the attack had never even happened.

"Alright Sam, if there is any problems, I'll run him to the hospital and call you, chances are the doctors would be wondering why he looks like he got ran over."

Sam nods.

"Alright...and tell Axel not to come in for the next week or two, I don't want him coming in, in that condition."

"Will do, He'll be thrilled to know I have his money for him at least."

Sam nods and walks inside waving a good-bye. When Sookie is sure he's inside, she quickly shuts the doors of the car and drives off, Axel sleeping peacefully beside her the whole way home.


	6. Bloody Memories

**Well everyone, here is chapter 6 of Fallen Twilight! i had a tough time with this, as I originally had three different versions of this chapter, one that was WAY longer than this, but seemed rushed, another that had NONE of the things you will read in here in it, and finally, the version you are now reading :D**

**Disclaimer: I seriously have to laugh if anyone thinks I claim ownership of The Sookie Stackhouse Novels series and anything it contains. HOWEVER, I do own Axel Twilight, Alexia Rebecca-Rose, and any characters I may introduce at a later time. Enjoy!**

Chapter 6:

The sounds of birds chirping their morning song, coupled with the blaring rays of the sun, cause Axel to awaken from his slumber of the previous night. Getting up to stretch, he feels a sharp jolt of pain shoot through his chest and and arms, along with a constant, dull, throbbing in his nose, reminding him of what had happened last night.

"Assholes." He whispers to himself.

The smell of food cooking and the sound of music playing downstairs makes Axel decide to get up and go see what Sookie is cooking. Slowly bringing himself out of the bed, trying not to bring too much more pain onto himself on account of the numerable bruises he has, Axel realizes that he is in nothing but a pair of cool and comfortable pajama bottoms.

He searches his brain for a moment, trying to figure out how he got into them, until, with a beet red blush, he realizes that Sookie is the reason he is in them.

"Well...this is awkward."

With that said, he looks at the bed, debating whether or not to make it. Deciding to do it later, on account of being sore, Axel walks out of the room and down the stairs, turning the corner at the bottom and walking into the kitchen, where Sookie is sitting at the table reading over the morning paper and sipping a cup of steaming coffee.

"Morning...is there some more of that?" Axel asks, pointing to the cup in her hand.

With an mm-hmm, Sookie swallows what coffee is in her mouth and smiles at him.

"Help yourself." She says, with Axel walking to the coffee maker and picking it up.

"How did you sleep?" He asks, pouring some of the drink into a mug.

"Mine was fine but" Sookie places her mug onto the table and turns herself around. "I'm more worried about you...you were quite the mess when we got home, and as much as I hated to, I had to have Bill carry you upstairs."

Axel stiffens up and looks at her with a "what the hell?" look.

"I didn't like having to ask either, but I tried and there was NO way I was getting you upstairs myself...he left right after though so don't worry...I hope you don't mind that I changed you into some pajama pants though...your clothes were so bloody that it would have been pointless to wash them, so I went and burned them out back after I had put you into bed."

In silence, Axel puts in three scoops of sugar and a bunch of milk with his coffee, then sits down at the table across from Sookie and takes a sip, before speaking.

"Well, I appreciate you doing that Sookie, I know how much you hate Bill."

"I don't hate him...I just don't wanna be his girlfriend. Hate takes too much energy, I do dislike him though."

"Well in any case, thank you. I never saw that coming...I should have though. The thoughts when Eric came into the bar last time should have been clue enough."

Sookie gently puts a hand on Axel's and rubs it.

"Sweetie, there was no way you could have known...What happened to you was NOT your fault."

Axel nods and gives a weak smile, as his eyes begin to brim with tears.

"You're right...Thanks Sookie...I just wish people weren't so close minded and would resort to such things."

"I know,I do too Axel, but just remember, you have everyone who works at the bar on your side, you've only worked there for a short time and they would do anything to make sure you're safe...What Sam did last night should proof of that."

"I need to remember to thank him when I go in next then."

Sookie nods and stands up, walking over to the stove, grabbing a spatula and flipping the bacon in the pan over slightly, along with the sausage and smiling.

"Food's ready." She said happily, grabbing two plates from one of the cupboards over her head and putting the food onto them, walking back to the table and setting one the plates on the table, walking back to another cupboard to get some forks and knives.

"So...you didn't see anything when I was asleep right?" Axel asks nervously, slightly dreading the answer.

"If by see, you mean that dream you were having with Eric, which involved, quite frankly, sex positions I didn't know were humanly possible, then yes."

"Crap...sorry about that."

Sookie just laughs and sits back at the table, giving Axel a fork and knife.

"Don't worry about it hun, I just need to remind myself to tune you out when you're sleeping is all."

With that said, Sookie and Axel begin eating their food in a comfortable silence, enjoying the sound of Katy Perry's new single Teenage Dream playing on the radio.

The day continued quite uneventfully, with Sookie and Axel doing random chores around the house for the morning and then sitting down on the couch to watch some movies together, namely Scream.

"I love these movies, they're one of my favorites." Axel says, as the opening credits roll.

"And why is that?"

Axel shrugs and smiles.

"I just like watching a movie series about a regular, human killer. Nothing supernatural about them. It's a well written and acted slasher, which is so hard to come by nowadays, with nothing but sex and gore being the main focus."

"I just try not to watch them...I've seen more real blood than I'd care too."

"My mom and I used to watch movies together...before she died. I miss her. I miss both my parents."

"What were they like? If you don't mind my asking that is."

Axel pauses the movie and shakes his head.

"I don't mind. My mom was beautiful, always made women her age jealous. She had a beautiful singing voice, which she always said I seem to have inherited. My father was strict, but what father isn't? Mom had long blonde hair with piercing emerald green eyes. My father had short black hair and brown eyes...that's pretty much all I can remember"

Axel smiles slightly as a tear slowly falls from his eyes.

"It's been so long...I can barely remember what they both sounded like...let alone what they looked like."

Sookie pulls Axel into a hug.

"I'm so sorry Axel...I understand how you feel though"

Axel nods his head and wraps his arms around Sookie and places his head on her shoulder, feeling safe in the hug.

"I used to sing with my mother all the time, it was something we used to do, just the two of us. I haven't sang since...since her and my dad were murdered."

Sookie gently pulls away from the hug and gives Axel a kiss on the forehead.

"If you don't mind Axel...would you tell me how they died?" She asks as Axel lays back into the couch, instead of the slight forward lean he had before when they were watching Scream.

"Well, it was when I was fourteen. I had just come home from a friend's house and noticed that the front door was wide open. I walked inside, just thinking my mother had left the door open for air, since it was quite hot that night. I took my shoes off and yelled for her and when I got no answer, yelled for my dad."

Axel slowly brings his legs onto the couch and crosses them.

"I walked into the kitchen, noticing the lights were shut off."

At this, Axel wraps his arms around himself, looking cold and afraid of the next part.

"I felt myself step in something wet. Of course I thought that the house had a blown pipe or something and it was flooding, so I stepped through the kitchen until I found the light switch. I turned the lights on...and what I saw, no matter how hard I try, will never leave my mind. The lights illuminated the blood that completely covered the linoleum, and spattered the walls. I couldn't move...let alone scream, and when I looked around, I saw a trail of blood leading out of the kitchen and into the living room."

Axel is silent, as he takes a sudden intake of air, then continues, more tears falling from his eyes.

"I found my parents, lying on the living room floor, covered in probably a mixture of each others blood. My father's head was still held on by half of his neck, as the other half was bitten or slashed off. My Mother's death was less gruesome...she had been simply drained, but her eyes were filled with complete terror...and they were staring at my father. She had been alive while he was dying and watched while she was drained."

"Oh my...Axel I'm so sorry." Sookie pulls Axel into a tight hug as Axel begins sobbing into her shoulder.

"I miss them so much Sookie...and I'm so scared! I'm certain the vamp who killed my parents is after me now."

Axel and Sookie sit together, in the hug and silence for many minutes, Sookie just rubbing Axel's back soothingly, and Axel crying himself, until he is able to get the tears under his control. He gently pulls back from the embrace and wipes his eyes, sniffling slightly.

"Thanks Sookie...I didn't really mean to break down like that...I should be over this by now."

Sookie lays a hand on Axel's shoulder and shakes her head.

"Axel...no one, especially someone who experiences what you did, should be expected to get over a parent's death...particularly one as gruesome and horrible as the one you saw. It WILL get better hun, I promise you...but don't feel like you're expected not to cry for someone you love. I'll go and get some tea for you. You just watch the T.V...but perhaps not Scream, see if something better is on."

With that, Sookie stands up and walks off into the kitchen, her blonde hair swaying behind her. Axel sighs and stand up, walking to the television, and turning off the movie, switching the input to the normal cable channel.

Grabbing the channel changer off the top of the television, Axel turns around to go and sit back on the couch to wait for Sookie, when he hears the sound of the local news channel.

"Breaking news! Three men have been found dead near Bon Temp's popular hangout, Merlotte's Bar and Grill..."

Axel freezes and loses all color in his face, turning around to look at the screen in horror.

"The victims were found, slightly after 2 A.M. last night. Officials have yet to release names, but details as to their deaths have been confirmed. Each victim was found in the woods, burned to the point of dental records needing to be used to identify them. It has been said that the victims were found with various flammable items, such as gasoline and lighters, leading investigators to believe they caught on fire, burning to death. Investigator's have not ruled out murder, but it is a very slim possibility at this time. We will bring more details as they unfold."

Axel makes no sound and no movement, the only thing his mind registers, is the fact that the men who attacked him...were dead. His grip on the controller in his hand falls to the ground as Sookie walks in with tea in her hand. The only thing she sees, is Axel, falling to the ground, fainting.

"Axel!" Sookie yells as she drops the cup in her hand, the cup shattering and the tea splashing and cascading over the floor.


	7. Remembrance

Chapter 7:

The world is dark for Axel, causing him to raise his hands, strangely able to see them, even in the blackness. Looking around, he realizes that nothing else but him is there... just himself and the vast, unending darkness, that almost seems to ooze death. The sound of the same, maniacal laughter from the night he was chased to Sookie's house echoes around him. Quickly looking around him again, he tries to find the source of the voice, but finds nothing.

"Where are you!" He shouts, intending to sound brave, but his faltering voice betrays him.

"You couldn't save them...and now, no one is going to be able to save you." The voice says, a disturbing sound of mirth in it.

"You don't frighten me!" Axel yells, before he can even stop himself.

Feeling a short burst of wind behind him, Axel turns and "sees" the source of the voice. By seeing, he only gets a glance a vague, blurry outline of the person, with no discernable features.

"I'll MAKE you be scared of me!" The voice screams, as it hisses and grabs Axel's head, forcing it to the side and sinks it's fangs into his neck, causing Axel to release a primal, terrified scream from his lungs. As he screams, Axel begins trying, in vain, to fight the vampire off of him. Slowly, as the vampire continues to drink from him, Axel feels his strength beginning to fade, and with it, his attempts at fighting back.

The vampire slowly pulls away and with a sound of licking it's lips, laughs.

"Your mother was just as sweet tasting...perhaps you even moreso. I will savor this!" It says, as it raises it's arm, and brings it down in a cutting motion, aimed right at Axel's neck.

With another scream, Axel jolts awake, shooting straight up into a sitting position. He's sitting on the couch in the living room, and Sookie is sitting in the chair across from it, looking like she had just been scared.

"Thank goodness your awake...you had me scared for a while there." She says as Axel brings up a shaking hand and wipes some of the sweat off his face.

"S-sorry Sookie." He says.

Sookie looks at him with a concerned expression.

"What happened Axel? I went into the kitchen for a moment and when I came back, you were in the middle of falling to the floor."

Axel shivers at the memory and begins explaining.

"I changed the channel of the T.V., like you said, so I could watch something else, but when I did, the news came on. Sookie...the men who attacked me last night, were found, dead...burned beyond recognition actually..."

Sookie turns ghost white.

"Oh...oh god. Do you think..."

"I KNOW it was that vamp that did it. Must have been pissed that someone else tried to kill me and killed them for it."

A silence drapes over the room as Sookie takes the information in.

"Sookie...I think we need to talk to someone for protection...obviously not the police because a vampire could easily do away with a few cops. I think we need to get a vamp."

"Well...Eric owes me, so I think he's our best bet, as much as i hate to say it."

Axel's eyes light up a bit at the thought of Eric protecting him, and an image of Eric in front of him, fangs out, defending him from the vampire that wants to kill him, flashes through his mind.

"I don't think that's exactly how it would play out hun, Eric's not exactly THAT kind of bodyguard." Sookie says, her face giving him a "give me a break" look

"Oh Sookie, I'm sure he's not so bad...he's gotta be a good person underneath." Axel replies.

Sookie begins chuckling.

"Oh please! He's the furthest from "good" as you could get...at least from what I've seen."

Axel snorts unattractively and stands up, walking to the kitchen to get himself some tea, noticing that a specific section of the floor is cleaner than the rest.

"You passed out just as I was bringing in your tea, so I ended up dropping and shattering the cup I was holding when I ran to catch you."

"Oh...sorry Sookie."

Axel walks into the kitchen, stepping towards the still-warm tea kettle. picking it up off its little stand, he turns on the oven to bring the water back up to it's scalding temperature.

(So, how and when are we going to talk Eric into...being our bodyguard?) He asks Sookie, feeling it pointless to shout when they could just think-speak to each other.

(I'm planning on going tonight. You're still too young to get into the bar, and Pam, Eric's child, will NOT let you in.) Sookie replies, thinking back to him.

Feeling slightly disappointed with not being able to go and see Eric himself, Axel tries to think of a way for him to be able to get into the bar, regardless of his age. Like the tea kettle is in-tune with his mind, it screeches right as an idea hits him.

(Why not just get to the bar before it opens? I'm sure that Eric and Pam would be there to set it up before they open, right?) He thinks to Sookie, grabbing a teabag out of one of the cupboards and putting it into a mug, poring the now scalding water into it, steam rising in it's wake.

Sookie doesn't respond for a moment, as random thoughts go flying through her mind, none of which are intelligible to Axel. Probably thinking over the idea.

With his tea finished steeping, Axel bends a bit to the side to open one of the drawers holding the cutlery, grabbing out a spoon to scoop out the bag from the cup. Having done that, and thrown the bag into the trash, he begins to make his tea the way he likes it.

He then walks into the living room, setting his tea on the coffee table in front of the couch where he takes a seat beside Sookie, as she finally answers his question from earlier.

"I think...that MIGHT work. We can go, just before sundown tomorrow, and if we get lucky, we may not even have to go in the bar if we catch them before they go in."

Axel breaks into a happy smile at the thought of being able to talk to Eric. No matter what Sookie has told him about the vampire, she could not dissuade him from being drawn to him.

"That's great! Then at least I can ask him...since it is technically my idea, I should be the one to ask him."

Sookie gives him a knowing smirk and chuckles.

"You just want an excuse to see him, which for the life of me, I cannot understand."

Axel's face turns serious.

"There's good in him Sookie...I don't want to sound rude because you DO know him, longer than I do, but I can feel it. There's just something about him that's making him hide it from others." Axel takes a moment to take a sip of his tea, his expression changing from one of seriousness to thoughtfulness.

"I don't know how, but I can FEEL the goodness in him. It's like a small glimmer in him, waiting to explode if he would just show it. The fact that he cares for you enough to inform you of the murders, and the fact it's a vampire, should be enough evidence of that."

Silence reigns as Sookie and Axel drink their tea, the television flashing beside them on mute.

"How do you do it Sookie?" Axel asks, breaking the silence.

"Hmmm? Do what?" Sookie replies, her face showing a questioning expression.

"How do you live with this...gift? I'm not sure what to call it."

For a moment, Sookie is silent as she thinks about how to answer the question.

"Well...it's never easy, I won't lie to you Axel. Some days are sheer hell. Other days, I manage to breeze by. Like life, you need to take it in strides, you can't always be worrying about what people think about you...even if you CAN hear them. I'll show you how to block them out, and over time, it'll become a second nature to you...things will get better sweetheart, I promise."

Axel nods in response.

"Thanks Sookie...I feel a bit better now."

"Good, now, why don't you go to bed...you look like you need the rest. Then, we can head over to Fangtasia tomorrow and deal with Eric."

"Okay...thanks again Sookie"

With that, Axel finishes his tea and sets it back onto the coffee and gets up, walking to the stairs, and up to his room for a much needed goodnight's sleep.

**Chapter 7 Part 2:**

Having woke up early the next morning, Axel is unable to get back to sleep, seeing the sun just barely breaking over the horizon. With a slight yawn, he slides himself out of bed and walks downstairs in his pajama bottoms, keeping quite so as not to wake up Sookie.

Having successfully made it to the bottom, Axel turns into the kitchen and walks over to the kettle, opting for some tea instead of coffee to wake himself up. He opens up a cupboard and grabs a decent sized cup, setting it on the counter in front of the kettle of water, filing the cup with two scoops of sugar and a tea bag, while also flipping the switch to begin boiling the water.

Now that he has his cup ready for when the water is finished boiling, Axel sits himself at the kitchen table and begins humming a tune to himself as the sound of the water beginning to boil can be heard slightly in the background. As he hums, he is reminded of his parents, his mother specifically, and the smell of her hair, long and beautiful. He can "hear" her humming along with him and he feels more relaxed than he has in a long time.

The sound of the tea kettle clicking shatters the little daydream Axel had dozed off into.

(Oooooh! Did I just hear the tea kettle clicking?) Sookie's thinks, bringing a smile to Axel's face as he gets up and pours water into his cup, while also grabbing another cup and teabag for Sookie.

(Yep, I'll get you some now so it's steeped when you come down) He thinks back to her, grabbing a spoon from a drawer and stirring the tea to even out the steeped tea, then walks over to the fridge and pulls out a milk carton, returning to his cup and pouring in enough milk to make the tea go from a dark red, to a light pink.

Sookie's footsteps can be heard upstairs as Axel walks back to the table and sits down with his tea, calmly sipping it and enjoying the smooth, sweet taste of it as it warms him and helps his senses wake up.

(What was that beautiful sound I woke up to? I sounded like someone was singing.) Sookie asks as Axel blushes.

(That would have been me, probably...I was humming a lullaby my mother used to sing to me.)

Sookie's footsteps are now heard coming down the steps, eventually she turns into the kitchen and she smiles at Axel, who smiles at her in return.

"That was you humming?" She asks, walking over to her tea and scooping some sugar into it while taking out the teabag.

Axel nods, even though Sookie has her back to him.

"Mmmmhmm. My mom and I kind of had the same singing voices. The funny thing was that I could go higher than her and she could go lower than I could." Axel replies, chuckling to himself.

"How sweet. Most boys would rather die before they get caught singing...but then again, most of those boys shouldn't be heard singing anyway." Sookie says, laughing at her little joke as she sits down at the table.

"That can be very true, but you would be surprised how many guys sing like I do. So, how did you sleep?"

"Really well...how are you feeling? You weren't looking so good when you went to bed last night."

Axel takes a sip of his tea, as does Sookie, before answering.

"I feel much better...last night was just a very Distressing night...I mean, I was pissed at those guys for trying to kill me...but it doesn't mean I wanted them to die."

" I know hun...don't worry, we'll go talk to Eric, and if he doesn't help, I'll call Alcide and Jason."

"Thank you Sookie. I don't wanna look a gift horse in the mouth...but why are you wanting to help me so much? You hardly know me."

"I've always had a personality that wants to help anyone in trouble. I feel a connection to you, Axel, because you're only the second Telepath I have come across...and you've been through so much already, that I want to help give you a better life. To me, you're already family."

"Family..." Axel says to himself as a tear begins creeping out of his left eye and sliding down his cheek.

"Yes, family." Sookie says as she takes one of Axel's hand in hers and squeezes it.

With a sniffle and a wipe of his cheek, Axel looks at Sookie with a beaming smile. Some more tears sliding down his cheeks.

"I don't think you know just how happy you've made me by saying that Sookie...thank you."

Sookie gives Axel's hand another squeeze, then lets it go as she smiles.

"You don't need to thank me sweetheart. I'm so glad that I've met you...more thankful than you probably know."

"Well... the feeling is mutual." Axel replies as he finished his tea and lets out a sigh of happiness as he wipes the remainder of his tears from his face.

Both Sookie and Axel, sit in a peaceful silence for a few moments. Sookie then breaks it.

"Axel?"

"Hmmm?"

"Could you...sing? I would love to hear your voice." She asks...looking a little nervous for asking.

For a few moments, Axel is silent as he thinks over the question. He nods slowly in response.

"Well...I don't know Sookie. I'm not very confident in my singing when I have people watching me." Axel replies, blushing a little

Sookie gives him a look of understanding and nods

"Alright Axel...you can sing around me, when you're ready. I won't push the subject."

Axel smiles lightly and takes one last sip from his coffee, finishing it off.

"Thanks Sookie. You're really amazing."

"How so?" Sookie asks, a quizzical look on her face as Axel gets up and takes his cup to the sink, giving it a quick rinse with some soap water.

"You just are. I mean, every time I came across someone willing to let me into their house, they were cautious of me. Then when they found out I was homeless, they were all too eager to get social services to come take me away. But not you. You've not only given me a home and a new family...you're accommodating to me personally. You don't pressure me with anything, and basically let me do what I want to with reason."

Axel puts his cleaned cup back in the cupboard, then returns to the table and sits back down.

"Well of course I am Axel. How couldn't I? I mean, you've been through so much in your short life. You needed to be given a home that you feel safe in and needed to have people who care about you and will be there for you when you need them most. There's no way you could have had that in a foster home. I know what it's like to feel you don't belong and that you're the only one with your gift. I couldn't just let you go...I wouldn't have forgiven myself."

For a moment, Axel feels a slight blush on his face, before Sookie stands up from the table with a smile on her face.

"Well...we have the whole day before we have to go to Fangtasia...what do you say we go do something fun? I could see if Tara's off work and we could all go hang out somewhere, just the three of us."

Axel smiles brightly at the thought of just spending time with Sookie and the loudmouthed Tara, who has been nothing but kind to him since they met.

"I'd like that...really I would." Axel says as he stands up as well, then a thought crosses his mind

"Wait, Tara's the bartender...wouldn't she be at the bar everyday?" He asks as Sookie laughs.

"Of course not silly...she gets days off too and Sam tends bar. Now lets hurry and give her a call before she has the chance to make any plans, she should be waking up by now too."

Axel nods as he and Sookie go into the living room to call Tara. A relaxing and entertaining day seemingly waiting for them.


	8. Striking A Deal

Fallen Twilight Chapter 8: Striking a Deal

(Sorry for the LONG delay wait for this update everyone, school was brutal the last couple months, but with my break I finished this chapter and am writing the next one, so please enjoy :D )

Not long after deciding what to do for the day, Axel and Sookie got themselves ready for a day of shopping and hanging out at the mall in Shreveport with Tara, whom was off for the day.

Having both decided it best, Sookie and Axel decided to keep their plan of going to Fangtasia to talk to Eric from Tara. Her standpoint on the relations Sookie has with Vampires, and the one Axel wishes to have with Eric, has been made clear.

Axel enjoyed just hanging out with the two girls. Tara is a pretty laid back woman...she just tends to get offended easily. Axel and her were finding it easy to get along, much to the joy of Sookie. On top of window shopping, the three were looking for presents for Christmas which was a few weeks away. Axel was excited about the fact of Christmas with people again...and in a house no less. He missed having a Christmas dinner and the likes on that day, so this year would spell a new beginning for him.

Eventually, the day turned to night, and Tara had to go home to get some sleep before she worked the next day, which worked for Sookie and Axel. They dropped her off at her house and set off towards Fangtasia, where hopefully Eric would be.

As Sookie pulls into the parking-lot, she looks at Axel with a slightly worried expression.

"Are you sure you want to do this Axel? I could talk to Jason and Alcide." She says, referring to here Were-Panther brother and Werewolf Ex-boyfriend from when she went looking for the once missing Bill Compton.

"I'm fine Sookie. I can't risk people that you really care for getting hurt, and with Eric I have no doubt he will be able to protect us." Axel replies as he turns to her and gives a soft smile in reply.

"You place too much trust in him Axel. I'm as close as it comes to Vampire acceptance and logistical thinking...but he's not to be trusted...most of them aren't."

Axel lost the smile and nodded in acknowledgement, feeling silly for falling so head over heels for a man he doesn't know, and preaching how good he is when Sookie has a history with him.

"I'm sorry Sookie. I guess I just let my heart get ahead of my mind. If it will make you feel a little better...I promise to be careful around him and all vamps from here on out." Axel says, his honesty very apparent, since Sookie has cut now been keeping herself from reading Axel's thoughts.

She nods in response and hugs him.

"Thank You sweetie...that's all I ask." She says as she gives Axel a quick pat on the hand, then turns off the key with a loud sound coming from the engine to signal it has turned off.

"Darn thing...I need to get that engine checked." She says as she opens her door and gets out with Axel following wordlessly behind her.

As they approach the bar's entrance, a tall woman with long golden blonde hair and penetrating blue eyes comes into view.

"Sookie...who's that?" Axel asks as they get behind a person who appears to be in line to get in.

"That's Pam, she's Eric's...child as it would be in vampire terms."

Axel looks at the woman again and when they finally approach her, he can't help but feel slightly small in comparison to her authoritative stature that almost seems to pulse with a power that is barely disguised by her elegant face. Her face is just the tip of the iceberg as Axel looks her over even more, noticing the ample bosom that is barely hidden by her leather attire, no doubt trying to keep up with the stereotypical "vampiric" appearance.

"Hello Sookie, what brings you here tonight?" Pam asks, her voice only adding to her beautiful appearance.

"We need to see Eric, Pam...he IS here right?" Sookie asks, Pam nodding in response.

"Indeed he is, he needed to be to keep up our little...facade we have going. It helps business greatly when he is on display for the humans. However, I can already smell that your friend here is not of age...his blood smell much too sweet." Pam smiles at the last comment, her gleaming white teeth showing just barely through the parting of her lips and giving a preview to the fangs she has hidden behind them.

"He and I have no desire to drink anyway Pam...we are here to talk to Eric about something important." Sookie says, giving Axel a worried look from Pam's comment, however, Axel is too enamored with seeing another vampire, and one so up close.

"Our policy prohibits us from allowing minors inside the bar...under any circumstance." Pam says as Sookie sighs in annoyance.

"Then could you see if His Majesty can take a few minutes away from his adoring subjects to talk to these lowly people?" Sarcasm practically rains from the request, making Pam raise an eyebrow in amusement.

"Shall I say that to him then?"

Axel, finally back to the present, laughs lightly.

"You would probably get him out here quicker." He says, Sookie nodding in response.

"Very well...one moment" Pam replies, disappearing so fast it seems like she was never standing at the entrance. A few surprised shouts can be heard fro inside the bar at the sudden burst of air generated from Pam, however, almost as fast as she left, Eric replaces her.

"Hello lover...to what do I, His Highness, owe the pleasure of you presence?" He asks, a slight smirk on his face, obviously liking the title greatly.

"First off, I'm not your lover Eric, second, Axel and I are here for a reason and it is not to appease your enormous ego." Sookie replies in annoyance.

Eric releases a huff of air that seems suspiciously like an amused chuckle.

"Very well...perhaps we could go somewhere more...private?"

"If you think for one minute that I am going to go near that basement of yours, you thought wrong." Sookie snaps, making Axel raise an eyebrow in questioning.

"Oh Sookie...what makes you even think you could stop me from taking the two of you there if I wanted to?" Eric asks, a playful smirk on his face.

Sookie's face doesn't change in it's defiant appearance. Before they can continue, Axel decides to jump in.

"Eric...I don't know if you remember me but we met a few night's back...at Merlotte's?" He says, now drawing the piercing gaze towards him, along with the smirk that makes his knees weak.

"I couldn't forget someone like you Mr. Twilight. What can I do for you this evening?"

Axel didn't think his cheeks could feel so warm, but he was quickly proven wrong as blood rushed into them.

"I have something important to ask of you pertaining to the recent deaths...I think this vampire is after me."

Eric raises an eyebrow.

"And what has drawn you to this conclusion if you don't mind my asking."

"A few years back...a vampire broke into my home and murdered my parents when I wasn't there...but it hasn't stopped trying to kill me. The only reason I have survived this long is because she likes to toy with me and if I hadn't found Sookie's home when I did...I would probably be dead now."

Eric doesn't do anything...he only continues to look at Axel, now with an indecipherable look.

"What I want to ask is...would you be able to have some of your more trusted vampires look after us...kind of guard us? Sookie has mentioned you owe her." Axel explains, finishing with a slight sigh and hoping Eric agrees.

"I would...but what will you do for me in return?" Eric asks, crossing his arms as Sookie's expression changes to anger.

"Eric! You owe me!" She yells, no longer caring they still hadn't moved to a private area yet.

"And I will uphold my debt to you Sookie...however, assigning protection for you both requires two vampires, and thus two debts."

"What exactly would I have to do to acquire your...debt?" Axel asks, shifting from one foot to the next in a nervous gesture.

"That would depend on what you feel would match the debt I would be repaying...perhaps something relating to my bar would be enough." Eric suggests, a slight twitch of his mouth signaling the smallest smile.

(Shit! Sookie, you don't think he means my telepathy do you?) Axel thinks, sounding nearly in a panic, but still looking the same on the outside.

(No sweetie, I don't think so, but it's hard to tell with him. Just tread carefully with him...for now at least.) Sookie replies, sending the recognition that Axel would be getting closer to Eric one way or another.

"Well,...I can sing." Axel says, Eric raising an eyebrow in curiosity.

"Really...that would certainly bring more business to the bar...we could even begin charging admission if you are good enough." He says, giving Axel an appraising look.

Sookie gives Axel a look that is one of slight concern, though she doesn't say nor think anything in response.

"I don't know how well it would help your business but I CAN sing and I would feel much safer knowing you are the one protecting me."

Eric remains still for a moment as he seemingly contemplates the offer, then turns and motions for them to follow.

Sookie and Axel follow behind him, eventually walking past Pam and into the still "dead" bar. Once inside, they go behind the bar and to a room that can likely be confirmed as Eric's office since he turns and closes the door, walking to his large wooden desk and sitting down. Looking around, Axel is surprised by the...normality that the room has. Filing cabinets were pressed close together against the wall with shelves holding various items on them.

"This...is certainly more ordinary than I was expecting." Axel says as Eric walks to his desk and sits on the edge of it, his one leg crossed overtop of the other.

"I assume this is a surprise to you?" Eric asks as Axel and Sookie stand near the door with Axel closing it behind him.

"Well,...I just always assumed Vampires lived in dark gloomy rooms and had a coffin in it." Axel replies, earning a shake of the head from Eric.

"Not all Vampires are like that. Mostly, that stigma is reserved for the more animalistic and less civilized ones that never accepted or agreed with the Great Revelation."

"Who's to say you aren't the same as those other vampires?" Sookie asks, a slightly suspicious look on his face the whole time.

"As I have before, Sookie, I would not be speaking with you two. In fact, I would drain one of you for fun, and keep the other for my use before her...talents." Eric replies, his face a more exasperated look that said they had been through this conversation before.

"Well, I don't want to take anymore of your time...I can come in and sing in this bar for you, in exchange for protection from the Vampire hunting me."

Axel doesn't want to be here for much longer. Even with the attraction to Eric, he still felt uneasy around him, and the bar was not helping his nervousness in the least.

"Well,...from what I recall, you work at the same bar as Sookie...I will need to know the nights you don't work to schedule you...and I will also need to do something else if I plan to protect you myself."

Axel's heart leaps at the thought of Eric being his personal bodyguard...though the last bit of him needing to do "something" makes him a little more cautious of the man.

"And what exactly would that be?" He asks, Eric shrugging his shoulders.

"Nothing too extreme...I will need to you drink some of my blood."

Axel and Sookie's mouths dropped slightly in shock.


	9. Blood of a Millenium

Fallen Twilight Chapter 9: Blood of a Millennium

Axel can hardly process what he has just heard.

"You...want me to drink your blood?" He asks, his voice slightly shaky.

"Yes...I don't like the idea of it either, but if I plan to guard you properly, I will need to be able to find you and know when you are in danger. With my blood, I can do that." Eric replied as Sookie begins to shake her head.

"What do you really hope to gain from this Eric? I know you and you are not this "charitable"" She said as Eric's eyes flashed to her.

"There is a great many things you do not know about me Mrs. Stackhouse, you would do well to remember that." He said as he looked towards Axel.

"So, shall we get this over with?" He asks as he stands up and walks over to Axel, making his heart start to beat faster and realize just how tall Eric is.

The closeness to Eric makes Axel realize just how GOOD he smells. He had been expecting him to smell...well, DEAD! But he smells anything but. He smells like a mixture of male musk and surprisingly, roses. The combined smell is causing Axel to react in a way he had HOPED wouldn't happen until AFTER he had some of Eric's blood...at least then he would have a reason for his response.

"Axel...you're sure about this?" Sookie asks, Axel's eyes practically glued to Eric's.

"Yes, I'm sure Sookie...I don't want to involve anymore people than I have too" Jason replies, glancing back at Sookie with a reassuring smile.

"Al-alright...I'll be right outside...Eric, if you hurt him, so help me..."She says as she walks to the door, opening it and showing Pam standing just outside of it.

"Let me know when they are done, Pam." Sookie says, walking out of view, with Pam smirking.

"Enjoy." Pam chuckles, shutting the door.

With the silence permeating the room, Axel turns to look back at Eric's face with a small bit of lust in it, made all the more apparent from the bulge showing from his jeans. Without a word, Eric brings his arm up to his mouth, opening it to reveal his appearing fangs, then bites doing with a slight popping sound from the skin, bloodying his mouth nearly instantly.

"Here, drink before the wound closes." Eric says, sitting on his desk to allow Axel a more comfortable way of sitting,

Axel walks forward slowly and places himself beside the same side as the bitten arm, taking it into his hands and slowly lowering his head down to the open would. The smell of the blood wafts into Axel's nose and instantly, he is assaulted by the powerful and heightened smell of Eric and without thinking, attaches his lips to the wound, sucking the delicious crimson liquid into his mouth greedily.

For a long time, the only sound in the empty office is the sound of Axel sucking the free-flowing blood out of Eric's ancient veins. As Axel continues to drink the blood, he becomes less aware of his surroundings and solely focused on the pleasure that the blood is giving him and how strong it's making him feel. When Eric's hand begins to gently pull Axel away from the wound, he lets out a snarl in response.

"My...quite to possessive one aren't you?" Eric asks, with Axel raising his head to look at Eric with his lips and part of his face painted in blood.

It's not until he begins to regain part of his consciousness lost from drinking the blood, that Axel realizes he had been grinding his hips against Eric and with a slight blush he apologizes with his head bowed in embarrassment. His head being tilted down allows him to see the wound on Eric's arm heal almost instantly with no sign of damage done to it.

"Woah..." He whispers to himself.

Axel doesn't look up at Eric until he feels a cloth slowly pushed to his face. Looking up, he sees that Eric is only intending to wipe the blood off him.

"Here...use this to clean yourself up." He says as he stands, gripping Axel's shoulders to stand him up as well.

"Th-thanks." Axel replies, wiping the remnants of the blood off his face, while at that moment, Sookie walks in with Pam.

"The fleshies are restless, Eric." Pam says, a constant smirk on her face, no doubt having heard whatever happened in the room.

"Alright then." Eric replies, looking at Axel. "I will come by the bar to work out times for you perform here." Eric says, walking out of the room with Pam, leaving Axel and Sookie alone in the office.

She walks towards Axel and looks at him with a look that is between concern and irritation.

"You really didn't need to do that hunny...We could have just asked Jason to get Alcide's pack to look after you...they owe me enough." She said as Axel wipes a finger across his lips getting a small bit of the blood on it and licking it, savoring the last bit of the blood.

"I know, Sookie but I...I feel better having Eric protecting me...and this way, less people will get involved...I just wouldn't feel right getting an entire group of people involved in something as slight as this, and at least this way, I have a job that allows me do something I love." Axel replies, placing the bloodied up cloth on Eric's desk.

"I just don't don't trust him is all..."

Axel nods in understanding.

"I know Sookie, I'm not saying he's just misunderstood or your distrust is misplaced...I'm just saying that for right now, we NEED to trust him, and don't worry...I won't let my guard down either...I've gotten through too much just to die from a stroke of stupidity now." He says as he hugs her.

"Now...why don't you say we go home and make a nice dinner...I think we deserve it after this."

With that, they both walk out of the bar, which was now beginning to be filled with the nightly crowd, some humans that Axel can read, but for the most part, his mind picks up the dull hums of Vampires.

Axel walks towards the bar, placing his tray on it.

"I need a rum and coke Tara." He says, looking back at the man he's waiting on.

"You sure he needs anymore? He looks about ready to have his head meet the table." Tara asks, reaching under the bar and grabbing out the rum.

"He's good...I'll be cutting him off after this one though." Axel replies, reading the mans mind for any signs of being ready to pass out...or worse.

"Alright...but if he pukes on the table, I am NOT cleaning that shit up." Tara says, giving Axel a look that says she isn't kidding.

Axel chuckles as Tara takes the glass on Axel's tray and ours some rum into it.

"Alright, Tara." He says, looking around the mostly empty bar, No Doubt's "Hella Good" playing quietly in the background.

A smile on his face, Axel enjoys the lack of chatter in the bar...in both the heard and mostly unheard kind. A few days had gone by since he and Sookie had gone to Fangtasia and in those few days, Axel had proved that Eric had not misplaced his judgement in allowing Axel to be the bar's new main attraction.

Not only had he been well received...in terms of vampires since they didn't make their disinterest vocal, though Axle figured that also had to do with Eric being in charge of the bar, but the small bit of humans he had heard in the bar had enjoyed his singing, no matter how drunk they were.

Drunken minds are a very interesting thing. While it may seem that a person is in control of their actions, they are just like a backseat driver. Always seeing everything happen but unable to control how they react...it made Axel think of the books he used to read as a kid...Animorphs and the Yeerks controlling a person. The person could scream and fight all they wanted in their head but they couldn't control themselves.

Brought back from his thoughts by Tara placing the cup on his tray, Axel turns to her and smiled.

"Thanks, Tara." He says, walking over to the man in his section...who is currently barely keeping himself together and from succumbing to his drunken state.

Wordlessly, Axel set down the drink, then turned back around and walked back to the bar, setting his tray on the bar and sitting on a stool.

"Mind getting me a Pepsi out, Tara?" He asks

With a nod, Tara gets the requested drink and sets it in front of Axel who takes the drink and pops open the can, taking a long sip of it.

"So...mind telling me when you and Sookie planned on telling me you made a deal with that bloodsucker in Shreveport?" Tara asks, as Axel ends up choking on his drink and takes a moment or two to get over the bouts of coughing.

"W-when did you find that out?" He asks, his voice a little hoarse from the drink going down wrong.

"Sookie can't hide everything from me...I may not be able to read minds like you guys, but I have intuition...so spill."

At that precise moment, Sookie comes in from the back room and sees the interrogating look in Tara's eyes.

"Tara, leave the poor boy alone." She says, a tired sound in her voice, her hands on her hips.

"When were you planning on telling me you went to that vampire bar? I thought you were done with vamps, Sook."

Sookie shakes her head, making her ponytailed hair bob back and forth.

"That is so none of your business, Tara."

"I think it is if it means you're both in trouble. I already have enough fucked up shit in my life and I don't need my best friend dying on me to add to it." Tara fires back as Axel gets up from his spot and walks away from the bar, towards Sam's office, quietly avoiding the slight argument brewing.

Sam is sitting at his desk, looking over papers that probably have to do with bills and the like. When Axel walks in, he raises his head and gives a small smile.

"You taking off?" He asks as Axel takes off his apron and throws it in the laundry hamper.

"Yep, Sookie and I are planning on just hanging out before I have a thing I need to be at tonight." Axel replies, grabbing his very small wallet that Sookie had gotten for him so he would have his money on hand, and sliding it into his front pocket, feeling much safer knowing it would be harder for people to steal it from the front than the back.

"Anything you can tell me about this "thing" you need to go to tonight?" Sam asks, turning around in his chair and leaning forward, resting his elbows on his legs and folding his hands together, resting his head on-top of them.

Axel slowly turns around, and eyebrow raised.

"Why would you want to know?" He asks, treading carefully. He doesn't want to read Sam's mind since he had finally got the hang of the mental barriers Sookie had been talking about.

"It wouldn't be up in that bar in Shreveport would it? That vampire bar." Sam asks, as Axel begins to feel a little uncomfortable.

"What makes you think that?" He asks.

"Because Tara told me you went there a few days ago...with Sookie. You aren't getting mixed up with some vampire are you, Axel? They're dead and if Sookie is any indication...they aren't nothing more than cold, heartless, killers." He says, a slight disdain showing through in his voice.

"Not all vampires are like that Sam...they're just like us in many ways. One could be cold and calculating...murderous. While the other could marvel in the wonders of life. Just because a few are like doesn't make all of them that way. Otherwise, we might as well label humans as nothing but mindless animals too since we have been the ones waging all the wars before." Axel says, his mind flashing an image of Eric in it.

Without another word, Axel walks out of Sam's office and back to the bar, grabbing a hold of Sookie's wrist.

"Come on, I don't really wanna be here any longer than I need to right now." He says as she nods and walks away from the bar with a wave to Tara.

Walking out to the car, Sookie looks at Axel.

"You alright hun?" She asks as they get into the car.

Axel doesn't answer for a moment as he does up his seatbelt, then he sighs.

"I'm fine. I just...wasn't expecting everyone to know that we went to the bar is all...who would have seen us, Sookie?" He asks as Sookie puts her keys into the ignition, turning on the car with it's sputtering noise that brings it to life.

"I don't know hun, but if people are knowing about it, we may need to be more careful." She replies as she pulls the car out of the dirt parking-lot, kicking up the dry dirt as the tires spin.

Later that Night:

Axel and Sookie walking into Fangtasia, looking around for Eric or Pam in the currently empty bar.

Before either of them can call for them, Pam is in front of Axel in a flash. The first time she had done that, Axel had cried out in shock but after her doing it a few more times, he had managed to keep himself from jumping and keeping it to just a small twitch of surprise.

"Good, you're here." She says, holding up a set of leather pants and a jacket.

"Uhhhh...what is THAT for?" Axel asks, pointing to the set.

"I sincerely hope you are being funny, because it should be obvious." Pam says, raising an amused eyebrow. "Eric thinks that you need to show a little more skin to attract more of our kind into the bar."

Axel raises a brow and shakes his head as Sookie is rendered speechless.

"I don't know if I am the most attractive person to be put on display for vampires." He says as Pam scoffs.

"It's not because you're attractive...it's so they see more of the skin that holds that...sweet smelling blood inside you. You have nothing to worry about though as Eric has instructed me to assure you he will be watching the performance for your safety...but just remember, you're an attraction to this bar now, and if more people want to see you, that means more money for the bar."

"So you want to practically dress me up and put me on display as a bloodbag?" Axel yelps.

"Hardly."

Axel turns his head towards Eric's voice.

"I did not give my blood to you on a whim, nor did I do it only to have you killed by some pathetic excuse for a vampire who cannot keep their hunger in check." Eric says as he walks over to Pam, taking the leather outfit.

Axel blushes as he remembers his shock at seeing himself the morning after he had drank Eric's blood. His hair, normally flat and dull, had been full of life and bright, showing off the brilliant brown that it is. In addition to that, he had found himself able to react to things much faster, his senses improved as he had managed to catch a beer bottle falling from his tray before it hit the ground when he was working at Merlotte's

It had gained him a few shocked looks and raised eyebrows, the more memorable of which were from Sam and Alexia.

In addition to heightened senses and improved hair...Axel had also noticed an increase in...his sex drive. Without fail, Axel had dreamed of Eric every night, leaving Axel with a very annoying hard-on that he had to slip to the bathroom to take care of, though it never took to long.

"Now, I would appreciate it if you wore this tonight. You are by no means average, Axel...and it appears my blood has done wonders for you." Eric says, breaking Axel from his train of thought and thrusting the outfit into his hands.

"Pam will take you to the washroom to help you with it, should you need any."

Without another word, Eric speeds out of the room and into his office, the door closing surprisingly quietly.

Sookie looks at Axel with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, I don't need to tell you what I think about this, but it's also your decision." She says as Axel nods.

"Yep, I know. I'm gonna do this, it's not like he's stringing me up and hanging me over a pit of snapping vamps so I can't argue." He says, Pam's mouth twitching slightly, but not enough to show amusement or annoyance.

"Let's go and get you changed, Eric wants you to be performing before the crowd gets here, so we have reason to charge them." Pam says, walking towards the bathrooms, her heel clicking against the concrete floor.

"I'll just be in front of the stage waiting for you to come out, Axel." Sookie smiles, walking to a table and sitting down.

Axel stayed where he was for a moment, taking a breath before he walks towards the washroom and walking in, seeing Pam primping herself in the mirror.

"They're in the stall." Is all she says, pursing her lips together, then forcing them apart with a pop, finishing the application of a new layer of lipstick.

"That outfit...is more conservative than I would have chosen. Eric, however, was adamant that it be enough to bring people into the bar and not make you bait to our kind." She says as Axel slips into the stall and closes it, not bothering to lock it since doing so would be pointless if Pam really wanted to get in.

Finally picking up the outfit and giving it a look-over, he scoffs.

"This is "conservative"?" He says, to which Pam, surprising, chuckles. instead of a calming tone to it though, it just sets Axel even more on edge.

"It was either that, or you would have nothing to leave to the imagination." She replies, as Axel mutters a "thanks" and starts undressing from his clothes, neatly folding and placing them on the toilet in front of him.

As Axel is slipping on the outfit, Pam begins pacing the bathroom, the clicking of her heels echoing in the confined room.

"Perhaps you can...enlighten me to something." She says, an amused tone in her voice.

"And what...would you need enlightening to?" Axel asks, sliding the smooth, black leather pants up his legs and feeling slightly exposed with the generous amount of skin they show.

"It continues to evade me as to how Eric could have POSSIBLY become so enamored with you. I have never seen Eric show an interest in any human before, save for Sookie, and the same goes for anyone else...what about you is so special?" She asks, as Axel's heart leaps at the thought of Eric being even remotely interested in him in...that way.

Axel, choosing his words carefully, slides on the leather jacket, leaving his mid-drift exposed, but thankfully allowing him to zip it up, covering his chest.

"I've never noticed his interest in me before, Pam...I only just met you both." He says as Pam huffs in frustration.

"How could you not realize that he gave his blood to you because he wants you to himself?" She asks, her voice conveying shock and mocking.

"I don't understand..." Axel replies, paused in his current task.

"You really don't know how things work...do you?"

Axel flinches slightly at the demeaning tone to Pam's voice.

"I'll take that as a no." She says, Axel having resumed his task of getting dressed, sliding the boots on and tying them up.

"Would...could my blood possibly have had any affect on his attraction to me?" He asks.

"Did you hear a thing I said? He let you drink his blood, only because he wants to constantly know where you are...to our kind, you BELONG to him now." Pam laughs.

"But...what will his blood do to me then?" Axel asks, coming out of the stall and looking at Pam with a look of "How do I look?"

Pam scoffs to herself and walks to Axel, running her hands through his hair, messing it up.

"Your sense will be keener, your strength will increase, and you should feel...healthier, as well as a more active...libido." She says, stepping back and appraising her work on Axel's now messy hair.

"Anything else I should know?"

"I don't care about what you do, but if this information will prevent you from doing something stupid that will endanger Eric and I, then fine. If you drink from Eric once, he gains a connection to you and your emotions, sensing when you are in trouble. You develop an attraction to him. Second time drinking from him will increase the link between you, and the third time solidifies it into a blood bond, Unbreakable until the death of the human."

"Why the human? Why not the vampire" Axel asks, Pam laughing in response.

"Two points." She says, holding up two fingers for emphasis.

"Point one. This is Eric, you are talking about...you wouldn't even be able to blink before he could rip your throat out. Point two. The blood bond is meant to last for the duration of the human's life, not the vampire's. The catch to this, is that even if the vampire dies, the bond will still exist and in most cases, will cause the human to go insane." Pam says, Axel standing in the same spot, unblinking.

"The bond YOU currently have with, Eric, is one sided and therefore, will fade within a six month to twelve month period."

Axel sighs in relief.

"That's a relief, thanks, Pam." Axel's face changes to one of reluctance as he asks his next question.

"Not to look a gift horse in the mouth...but why did you answer any of my questions?"

"Sookie cares for you, and for some reason I can't comprehend, Eric does too. So I feel I can trust you on SOME level...but don't prove me wrong..."Pam says, grabbing Axel in a burst of blurring speed, her fangs popping out.

"Or I will rip your fucking throat out and use it as a straw." She says, hissing. Fear flashes in Axel's eyes as he gulps and nods, Pam's fangs receding into his mouth with the sound of bone hitting bone.

Pam, letting Axel go, smirks.

"Come." She says, walking out of the restroom, with Axel quickly grabbing his clothes from the stall and following after her.

Walking to the stage, Sookie gets out of her seat and looks at Axel with appraising eyes.

"Well, it's not as bad as I thought it would be at least." She says, Axel smiling in thanks.

"Thanks, Sookie." Axel says, pulling her into a quick hug.

(And don't worry, Pam, Eric and I will make sure we look out for any trouble...so just worry about singing. On a plus side, you won't be "hearing" as many people here as you would at Merlotte's) Sookie thinks, Axel smiling wider.

(True...thanks again Sookie.) He says as they pull away from the hug and Axel walks to the stage, Eric appearing on the stage alongside him.

"I have gotten vampires with a satisfactory knowledge of music, so you only need to worry about your singing." He says, Axel noticing the four vampires on the stage with varying kinds of instruments.

"Th-thank you, Eric." He says, looking to microphone on the stage and walking to it.

"You are, hopefully, my new form of income in the bar and thus I will provide the resources needed to you." Eric says as Axel begins shuffling songs through his mind that he wants to do.

"Well...what do you say we get started then?" He says, having thought of the perfect song to start with.


	10. Musical Entertainment

After a quick discussion with the band members, Axel had managed to compile a setlist of songs that he felt were more modern than the musical choices he had heard the bar have, yet still managed to retain the atmosphere of it. Songs included ones by Lady Gaga, Adam Lambert, Nickleback, Evanescence, and others. These songs, while rock-ish, also gave a dance vibe that Axel feels the bar desperately needs.

As he is making sure the microphone is correctly adjusted to his height, and that there won't be any wardrobe malfunctions, Axel feels a sudden rush of...euphoria? He could smell the scene of Eric, as well as feel the small burst of wind to signal his presence.

Turning around, Axel flashes a gleaming smiles to Eric, whose face holds no discernable emotion.

"I just wanted to make sure that you were ready, and that there would be no...accidents that would embarrass the bar." He says, Axel's smile faltering a bit.

"Well...I've given the setlist to the band, and I've made sure everything else is ready too...so things should be fine." He says, as Eric nods in satisfaction and then eyes the crowd gathering in the bar.

"I will have Pam lay down the rules for them...I won't have them killing my newest attraction."

"Would they really try something...with the sheriff here?" Axel asks, raising a questioning brow.

"You have obviously not had much experience with vampires before." Eric scoffs as Axel's expression changes to one of agitation.

"You OBVIOUSLY don't know me well enough to be able to say that, Eric."

Eric's expression shows one of amusement, which Axel does not see as he turns around to face his microphone, missing Eric's eyes that are focused on his lower body.

"You have a fire to you...when you want to." Eric says, earning no reply from Axel.

"I'll get Pam." He says, his face back to the same expressionless appearance.

Without another word, Eric speeds away to find Pam, leaving Axel to his own company before he sees Pam appear in his peripheral vision near instantly, making him jump and clutch his chest.

"Jesus Christ! Why do you have to do that?" He hisses, Pam smirking at the reaction.

"Well with a reaction like that...why wouldn't I? You humans are so jumpy that it's near hysterical." Her tone of amusement barely masked.

"Well EXCUSE ME for not knowing when you are going to practically jump me." Axel says, his voice holding a friendly tone and not one of anger.

Pam turns and walks to the stage, putting away her smirk for a more authoritative one. Before speaking, she turns to Axel.

"That could easily be remedied." She says.

Axel's eyes widen in shock.

(Did she seriously suggest I get myself TURNED?) He thinks.

"Of course, neither myself, nor Eric would be the ones to provide such a remedy. The option is always there though...I know a great deal of vampires looking to make a child." She adds, turning back to face the crowd.

Axel looks to the crowd as well, his brain hearing the thoughts of the human patrons...thinking about various things, but all leading back to the same thing...sex and drinking.

"Listen up!" Pam yells, grabbing the attention and silence of everyone in the bar.

"Your sheriff has organized a new form of entertainment for you...he would, however, like to remind you all that should you do anything that he deems inappropriate...extreme measures WILL be taken."

Axel gives Pam an appreciative smile as she turns and walks off the stage her heels clicking behind her, allowing for Axel to take centre stage.

Looking around for Sookie, Axel spots her at the front of the stage sitting alone with a drink. She smiles and gives him a little thumbs up in a gesture of good luck.

Smiling back, Axel turns around to the band and nods, signaling for them to start. The night opens with _Something to Die For _by_ The Sounds._

_A Few Hours Later:_

Having become lost in the music, Axel had lost all concern of what people were thinking as he sang, allowing himself to dance along to the songs. Occasionally, he would glance at Sookie, who was smiling and sending him encouraging thoughts ranging from "You're doing great!" to "You own that song!"

After having gone through the setlist, Axel has reached the final song. The opening instrumentals to Taylor Swift's Haunted begin to play as he begins to dance fluidly around the stage, becoming absolutely absorbed in the song. He looks around at the crowd of humans and vampires that are in the bar and either dancing along, singing in the background, or just sitting with a drink and watching him intently. As he scans the crowd, a familiar face catches his eyes and when he focuses on who's it is, he realizes it is Alexia.

(Sook, Alexia is here.) He thinks, seeing Sookie look out of the corner of his eye and then nodding slowly.

(I see her...you getting anything from her, Axel?) She responds as Axel continues to sing.

(No. I can't read her...you think she's a vamp?) He asks, walking up to a band member and grinding his hips against him, earning more than a few fang pops from the crowd as well as the member in question.

(Can't be...she's able to go into the sun...she COULD be a Were, but other supes and vamps hardly ever get along so unless she's a special case, I have no idea.) Sookie replies, sending a comment of how he should cool it as well.

Returning his attention to the song, Axel returns to dancing along the stage, snapping his body backwards and forwards everytime a bell sounds in the song.

Occasionally stealing glances at Alexia, Axel sees not only is she staring at him with what can only be seen as a carnal hunger, but that she isn't the only one watching him. Vampires around the bar are staring at him with the same look and fangs lowered, either in hunger or attraction, he can't tell.

As the song begins to come to it's conclusion, Axel makes sure that Pam and Eric are nearby in the event an untrained vampire cannot stop themselves from attacking him in a lust or hunger fueled fury. He thanks his lucky stars that they are indeed in close proximity and tensed in anticipation for a possible assault.

The final notes of the song plays and Axel lets loose a ear piercing note, creating the most haunting sound in the bar.

Sookie stands and begins clapping furiously, while others in the bar less enthusiastic though they clap as well. Axel takes this as a compliment that he has even managed to garner even the slightest praise from vampires and looks back to Alexia, finding her to be gone from where she was.

He bows lightly and brings the microphone to his mouth once last time.

"Thank you, I hope you enjoyed the show." He says, smiling brightly.


End file.
